IT Chapters One and Two

This book explores the horror genre, Gothic, and Stephen King scholarship in relation to Andy Muschiettis IT Chapter One (2017) and IT Chapter Two (2019). It analyzes the films as adaptations, the popularity of horror films among fans, and the significance of the fictional town of Derry as a traditionally Gothic "bad place." The analysis also explores the complex navigation of memory and trauma, gender representation, queer representation, and the return of the repressed, with Pennywise the clown as a central figure. The book contextualizes Muschiettis films within the larger landscape of Kings literary and popular culture influence and the debate surrounding "elevated" horror and the "horror boom" of the late 2010s.

Format: Hardback
Length: 128 pages
Publication date: 01 February 2023
Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Drawing on extensive critical analysis of film, the horror genre, the Gothic, and Stephen King scholarship, this book explores Andy Muschietti's IT Chapter One (2017) and IT Chapter Two (2019) on multiple levels: as films (both as individual works and through their interconnected narrative), as adaptations, and as a measure of the popularity of horror films among fans. Key points of consideration include the significance of the fictional town of Derry as a traditionally Gothic "bad place," the role of 1980s nostalgia in these two films, the complex navigation of memory and trauma, gender representation, queer representation, and the return of the repressed. The terrifying figure of Pennywise the clown is central to this analysis, encompassing considerations of performance, costuming, and significance within the broader landscape of the "scary clown" popular culture trope, and through comparison to Tim Curry's iconic portrayal in Tommy Lee Wallace's 1990 miniseries. This Devil's Advocate contextualizes Muschietti's films within the broader realm of King's literary and popular culture influence, as well as the ongoing debate surrounding "elevated" horror and the "horror boom" of the late 2010s.

Drawing on extensive critical analysis of film, the horror genre, the Gothic, and Stephen King scholarship, this book explores Andy Muschietti's IT Chapter One (2017) and IT Chapter Two (2019) on multiple levels: as films (both as individual works and through their interconnected narrative), as adaptations, and as a measure of the popularity of horror films among fans. Key points of consideration include the significance of the fictional town of Derry as a traditionally Gothic "bad place," the role of 1980s nostalgia in these two films, the complex navigation of memory and trauma, gender representation, queer representation, and the return of the repressed. The terrifying figure of Pennywise the clown is central to this analysis, encompassing considerations of performance, costuming, and significance within the broader landscape of the "scary clown" popular culture trope, and through comparison to Tim Curry's iconic portrayal in Tommy Lee Wallace's 1990 miniseries. This Devil's Advocate contextualizes Muschietti's films within the broader realm of King's literary and popular culture influence, as well as the ongoing debate surrounding "elevated" horror and the "horror boom" of the late 2010s.

Weight: 238g
Dimension: 142 x 198 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781802077155